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CREW: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Regarding Paid Travel
CREW: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Regarding Paid Travel
respon~ibility
CREW I and ethIcs In washIngton
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ("CREW") makes this request for
records, regardless of format, medium, or physical characteristics, including electronic records
and information, electronically stored information, audiotapes, videotapes and photographs,
pursuant to the Freedom ofInformation Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.c. § 552, et seq.
Specifically, CREW seeks any and all documents from any office or component of the
Commodities Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"), dating from January 1, 2001, to the
present, regarding any CFTC internal policy or guideline governing the acceptance by CFTC
employees of offers of travel to be paid for in whole or in part by any third parties. As used in
this request, "third parties" includes any non-federal entity or individual.
CREW also seeks any and all documents dating from January 1,2001, to the present
related to any request by any individual CFTC employee for approval to engage in travel where
any or all of the costs of the travel are proposed to be, or are in fact, funded in whole or in part by
any third parties. This would include, but is not limited to, requests for travel authority made by
individual CFTC employees where the travel is to be paid in whole or in part by a third party,
documents reflecting any action the CFTC took on such requests and any documents that reflect
travel undertaken by any CFTC employee funded in whole or in part by a third party.
1400 Eye Street, N.w., Suite 450, Washington, D.C. 20005 I 202.408.5565 phone I 202.588.5020 fax www.citizensforethics.org
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such meetings and/or discussions.
If it is your position that any portion of the requested records is exempt from disclosure,
CREW requests that you provide an index of those documents as required under Vaughn v.
Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1972). As you are aware, a
Vaughn index must describe each document claimed as exempt with sufficient specificity "to
permit a reasoned judgment as to whether the material is actually exempt under FOIA."
Founding Church of Scientology v. Bell, 603 F.2d 945, 959 (D.C. Cir. 1979). Moreover, the
Vaughn index must "describe each document or portion thereof withheld, and for each
withholding it must discuss the consequences of supplying the sought-after-information." King
v. United States Dep't of Justice, 830 F.2d 210, 223-24 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (emphasis added).
Further, "the withholding agency must supply 'a relatively detailed justification, specifically
identifying the reasons why a particular exemption is relevant and correlating those claims with
the particular part of a withheld document towhich they apply.'" Id. at 224, citing Mead Data
Central v. United States Dep't of the Air Force, 566 F.2d 242, 251 (D.C. Cir. 1977).
In the event that some portions of the requested records are properly exempt from
disclosure, please disclose any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions of the requested
records. See 5 U.S.C. §552(b) ("Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided
to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt ..."); see
also Schiller v. Nan Labor Relations Bd., 964 F.2d 1205, 1209 (D.C. Cir. 1992). Ifit is your
position that a document contains non-exempt segments, but that those non-exempt segments are
so dispersed throughout the document as to make segregation impossible, please state what
portion of the document is non-exempt and how the material is dispersed throughout the
documents. Mead Data Central, 566 F.2d at 261. Claims ofnon-segregability must be made
with the same degree of detail as required for claims of exemption in a Vaughn index. If a
request is denied in whole, please state specifically that it is not reasonable to segregate portions
of the record for release.
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activities of government officials and to ensuring the integrity of those officials. CREW is
dedicated to empowering citizens to have an influential voice in government decisions and in the
government decision-making process. The release of information garnered through this request
is not in CREW's financial interest. CREW will analyze the information responsive to this
request, and will likely share its analysis with the public, either through memoranda, reports or
press releases. CREW has an established record of carrying out these types of activities, as
evidenced through its website, www.citizensforethics.org. Currently, the CREW website
contains links to thousands of pages of documents acquired from FOIA requests. See
http://citizensforethics.org/activities/foia.php. Visitors to CREW's website can peruse the FOIA
request letters, the responses from government agencies, and a growing number of documents
responding to FOIA requests. CREW's virtual reading room provides around-the-clock access to
anyone interested in learning about the government activities that were the focus of CREW's
FOIA requests. The CREW website also includes documents relating to CREW's FOIA
litigation, Internal Revenue Service complaints, and Federal Election Commission complaints.
In addition, CREW will disseminate any documents it acquires from its request to the public
through www.governmentdocs.org.aninteractive website CREW founded that includes
thousands of pages of public documents from a number of organizations in addition to
CREW.
Under these circumstances, CREW satisfies fully the criteria for a fee waiver.
Conclusion
Please respond to this request in writing within 20 days as requested under 5 U.S.C.
§552(a)(6)(A)(I). If all of the requested documents are not available within that time period,
CREW requests that you provide it with all requested documents or portions of documents that
are available within that time period.
If you have any questions about this request or foresee problems in releasing fully the
requested records within the 20-day period, please call me within that time period. I can be
reached at (202) 408-5565. Also, if CREW's request for a fee waiver is not granted in full,
please contact me immediately upon making such a determination. Please send the requested
documents to William C. Holmes, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 1400
Eye Street, N.W., Suite 450, Washington, D.C. 20005.
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Sincerely,
~C~
William C. Holmes
Counsel
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington